Pregnant Soldier’s Death Spurs Debate on Women in Military

The death earlier this year of a pregnant soldier has highlighted the working conditions of women in South Korea’s military and triggered changes designed to support an increasing number of women joining the armed forces.

In January, Lieutenant Lee Shin-ae was seven months pregnant while working in an office at a base in Gangwon Province, which borders North Korea.

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One day, Lt. Lee started to show abnormal symptoms, including vomiting. She fainted after she finished work. She was unable to receive immediate treatment because of a lack of nearby medical facilities and was taken to the nearest hospital, two hours away by car.

The next day, she died of a brain hemorrhage after having a caesarean section to save her baby.

The army decided not to classify her as a person who had died on duty, saying it could not find any connection between Lt. Lee’s death and her work. The decision meant her family was ineligible to receive benefits from the government.

However, after Korea’s Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission suggested that the army reverse its decision, her case broadened into a debate about the general working conditions for women in the military.

Both of Korea’s major political parties issued calls for the army to accommodate female soldiers better and to reconsider Lt. Lee’s case.

The number of Korean women in the military has risen to 8,258 as of June this year compared with 5,841 in 2009. The appeal of stable work amid relatively high unemployment among those in their 20’s and 30’s has helped boost the numbers of those signing up. (Able-bodied South Korean men have to serve around two years in the military.)

The Korean government aims to increase the percentage of female soldiers to 5.5% by 2020 from 4.0% in September 2012, and officers to 7.7% from 5.1%.

However, critics say the working conditions for female soldiers have not kept pace with the trend. For example, sexual assaults committed against female soldiers remain a pressing problem.

According to a study by the National Human Rights Commission, over one in ten female soldiers reported a sexual assault while on duty in 2012. Experts say actual incidences of sexual assault are probably much higher.

“Given the special working conditions of the army, female soldiers would need to think a lot about whether to report sexual assaults since they still need to report to the same duty station with the same co-workers,” said Park Sun-young, a researcher at the Korean Women’s Development Institute.

In the wake of the death of Lt. Lee, Korea’s Ministry of Gender Equality and Family and the Ministry of National Defense agreed in September on several programs to improve working conditions for female soldiers. One of the plans is to hire professional instructors to provide preventive education against sexual assaults.

In addition, the defense ministry is considering launching various plans for pregnant female soldiers such as creating associations with local hospitals to offer soldiers prenatal care.

Meanwhile, on Oct. 4 the army decided to classify Lt. Lee as a person who died on duty, allowing her family to receive benefits.

“After learning the news about the army’s decision, I finally felt like a load was taken off my mind,” said Lee Jae-hak, the late lieutenant’s father.

“I believe more females should participate in the decision making process in order to improve working conditions for female soldiers because women understand other women better than men do,” he added.